Change in city's PR department

City Hall has abruptly halted all spending for private public relations consultants, despite Mayor Daley's repeated assertions that the contracts are a wise use of taxpayer money.

"We didn't have that many anyway," Daley told reporters Tuesday. "Any other questions?"

The move follows a Tribune report last month that the city spends millions of dollars on outside public relations help in addition to $4.7 million a year on salaries for more than 50 public information officials in the administration. After the report was published, Daley tersely defended those expenditures as being "worth it."

But with the mayor proposing almost 1,000 layoffs of city employees to close a $469 million budget shortfall, some aldermen questioned the costs of the Daley message machine, especially the payments to outside consultants.

"A lot of this can be and should be done in house," said Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd). "I believe the majority of aldermen believe that too."

Jacquelyn Heard, the mayor's veteran press secretary, said Tuesday that the city would indefinitely stop all spending on 10 recently signed public relations contracts that could pay as much as $5 million each. Under those new deals, the city has paid more than $150,000 since August to three firms, with most of that going to the public relations firm of longtime Daley supporter Marilyn Katz.

Since 2004 the administration has paid more than $4 million to Katz's company, city records show. Her firm has promoted the mayor's environmental programs as well as an initiative to restore bungalows.

Katz declined to comment Tuesday, saying she was too busy working for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

In addition, officials say, the new budget would reduce the number of public relations officials at City Hall next year by consolidating departments. Still, salaries for media relations aides would rise. Daley proposes giving a $5,000 boost to Heard, increasing her an annual salary to more than $177,000.